Supporting members



Jan. 5, 1960 w. NATHAN 2,919,878

" SUPPORTING MEMBERS Filed Sept. 13, 1957 %/Zr% %7, BY 7, Q @Q WZYZW/Q SUPPORTING MEMBERS Walter Nathan, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Round Tubes 8*. Cores Co., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application September 13, 1957, Serial No. 683,739

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-194) This invention relates to improvements in supporting members.

One of the objects is to provide a supporting member which may be readily attached to a tubular member to support same in a vertical position.

Another object is to provide a stand for supporting a tubular post in a vertical position, which may be readily assembled and disassembled and which requires a minimum of shipping and storage space and which can be used with a tube of any diameter and wide range of wall thickness.

In retail establishments, it is desirable to display signs and certain merchandise at various points throughout the store. The stands of the prior art do not lend themselves to such displays since they are expensive and require fairly large shipping containers and consume valuable storage space when not in use. These advantages are all obviated with this invention since the parts may be readily assembled and disassembled requiring little shipping and storage space, are relativelylight in weight and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one of the supporting members to which is secured the tubular post.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the supporting member.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the supporting members arranged to form a stand and supporting a tubular post.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the supporting members arranged to form a stand and supporting the tubular post which has cross supporting bars thereon.

The supporting member is generally indicated by the numeral and is preferably formed of a narrow fiat strip of metal or wire which is bent to form a base 12, a hypotenuse or inclined portion 14, a substantially perpendicular portion 16 which is bent inwardly at its lower end to provide an attaching portion 18 which overlies a portion of the base 12 and which is riveted or otherwise permanently secured as at 19 to the base 12. This forms a substantially right triangular shape.

The base 12 extends beyond the perpendicular portion 16 and is bent upwardly to provide a perpendicular portion 20 which is spaced from the substantially perpen dicular portion 16 to provide a space 22 therebetween.

The base 12 is slightly inclined outwardly from the horizontal as indicated at 23 and the juncture between the outer end of the base 12 and the hypothenuse 14 is shaped to form a downwardly extending loop or foot 24. Each supporting member is thus formed from a single integral strip of material and is attached at only one point to provide a simple and inexpensive structure having a high degree of support.

The supporting members 10 are used to form a stand United States Patent 0 "cc g ,ffffilfi for supporting a tube 26 which is formed preferably of a fiber material. The lower end of the tube 26 is secured in the space 22 between the perpendicular portions 16 and 20 and is held taut therein by engagement of the upper end 17 of perpendicular portion 16 engaging the outside of the tube and the perpendicular portion 20 engaging the inside of the tube as best shown in Figure 1. The strip of metal has a certain amount of give or springiness and hence will grip the tube to hold it tight against accidental withdrawal. It may however be readily withdrawn from the supporting member when so desired and may be readily inserted for support in the supporting member. The leg 24 on the base 12 further tends to slant the supporting member 10 in the direction of the tube to provide a base which has a two point contact with a supporting surface namely adjacent the outer end at the leg portion and also adjacent the opposite end near the tube. This prevents a rocking of the supporting member if placed on a supporting surface which is not flat. This also tends to support the tube in a straight vertical position.

To form a stand for the tube 26 a plurality of supporting members 10 are equally spaced around the tube and secured thereto as described aforesaid. While three of such supporting members are shown in Figures 4 and 5, it will be understood that two or more may be used with equal facility.

When three or more supporting members 10 are used to support a tube, it is only the tips of the loops or feet 24 of the supporting members 10 which engage the floor or supporting surface. As more weight is added to the tube 26 by placing material on the display unit, the counter pressure at loops 24 will be exerted through the hypothenuses 14 with the result of providing stronger support at the upper ends 17. Thus the effectiveness of the entire supporting stand is improved as more weight is added to the display.

The tube as shown in Figure 5 may be provided with transverse openings 28 which receive transverse removable bars 30 on which may be hung or secured material to be displayed or signs or anything desired. The unit as shown in Figure 5 may be readily set up and dismantled. It requires very little space in shipping or storage as the parts may be readily detached from each other. Tubes of any diameter as well as tubes having a wide range of wall thicknesses may be utilized with this invention.

While the drawings show the invention illustrated in connection with a strip of metal, it will be understood that the supporting member may be thus formed of wire.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible stand adapted to rest on the floor or like surface, said stand comprising a plurality of supporting members detachably connected to a vertically positioned tubular member, said supporting members each formed of a strip of metal and each having a base, a hypothenuse and a pair of adjacent vertical portions providing an entrance at the top thereof and defining a space therebetween to detachably receive the lower end of the tubular member for detachably supporting the tubular member in a vertical position, said vertical portions being normally urged towards each other to grippingly engage said tubular member. a

2. A collapsible stand adapted to rest on the floor or like surface, said stand comprising a plurality of supporting members detachably connected to a vertically positioned tubular member, said supporting members each formed of a strip of metal and each having a base, a hypothenuse and a pair of adjacent vertical portions providing an entrance at the top thereof and defining a space therebetween to detachably receive the lower end of the tubular member for detachably supporting the tubular member in a vertical position, said vertical portions being normally urged towards each other to grippingly engage said tubular member, said base having a downwardly extending foot at the outer end thereof so constructed that only the feet of said supporting members contact the floor surface when supporting the tubular member.

3. A supporting member forming a collapsible stand adapted to rest on a floor or like surface, said supporting member comprising a base, an inclined portion and a pair of adjacent vertical portions all integrally formed of a strip of metal, said base having a depending leg at the outer end thereof, said adjacent vertical portions providing an entrance at the top thereof and defining a space therebetween adapted to detachably receive a tubular member for supporting same in a vertical position, said vertical portions being normally urged towards each other to grippingly engage said tubular member said supporting member and said tubular member forming a stand, said stand being collapsible by disengagement of said tubular member from said supporting member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,748,597 Collins Feb. 25, 1930 2,341,424 Chason Feb. 8, 1944 2,466,494 Slagle Apr. 5, 1 949 2,477,771 Sanford Aug. 2, I949 FOREIGN PATENTS 300,908 Italy Sept. 21, 1932 

